Browsing: wine tasting

While every state in the union now makes wine, you still won’t find any areas as well-known as Napa and Sonoma. They are two of the most recognized wine regions in the U.S. and they also happen to be right next door to each other in Northern California. If your time is limited, how do you choose?

It’s hard to believe that two places producing wine could be so close yet so different, but it’s …

I’m not advocating necessarily waking up with a glass of “vino tinto” (red wine) with your scrambled eggs and jamon…Although that isn’t out of the question in this area where wine flows often more freely than water.

La Rioja is in Spain’s far north, just below the sunny shores of San Sebastian and nestled between the popular towns of Bilbao and Pamplona. The towns and villages in this area are quiet and sleepy, with the …

Where’s all the hype? Where are all the people? Where’s the best-selling expat memoir called ‘My Rioja Year’ or ‘A Casa in Rioja’? While La Rioja’s wines are acclaimed around the Iberian Peninsula and internationally, there isn’t much shaking in La Rioja, the region. This was brought to my attention by two sun-kissed Swedes who I was tasting with at the extravagant bodega Eguren Ugarte in Páganos, just a couple miles from Laguardia. Páganos is …

Stop and smell the mustard on your own version of Spring Break this year. Smell the mustard?

Mustard is blooming in Napa Valley…stark vines stand out among the neon yellow at their feet. Great photos…even better wines. With about 400 wineries in the Napa area alone, this is one of the best times of the year to visit. Less tourists than summer means more personalized attention from winery owners and winemakers.

Make sure you do …